Russia says US hacking allegations reminiscent of a witch-hunt

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no new evidence had been produced to show that Russian officials were involved.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia.(AP file photo)

Allegations that Russia tried to influence US elections in favour of Donald Trump amount to a witch-hunt, the Kremlin said on Monday, in its first reaction to the release of a US intelligence report on the alleged Russian operation.

The report, a redacted version of which was released publicly last week, alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed a cyber campaign aimed at helping Trump beat his rival Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House.

“If some kind of contacts will be planned, then they will be planned extremely painstakingly, carefully, especially since we are talking about contacts following a very tense period in our relations,” he said, referring to disputes between the Kremlin and the Obama administration.